The Tech Vendors That Will Cash in on the Smart Grid Stimulus Funds

In a couple months the $3.4 billion in stimulus funds for smart grid projects will be doled out to about 100 utilities and cities. But the tech vendors — smart meter makers, network software developers, wireless sensor gear companies — will see those funds flow down in the form of contracts. While the ecosystem as a whole will benefit, here’s a breakdown of companies that we know already have a piece of these projects:

Meter Makers:

Itron: The largest meter maker, with more than 14 million smart meters under contract, Itron had some significant skin in the stimulus-funded game, including contracts with CenterPoint Energy (which snagged a $200 million award for 2.2 million smart meters), San Diego Gas and Electric ($28.12 million for wireless smart grid network), DTE Energy ($83.83 million for 660,000 smart meters and 300 smart appliances) and City of Glendale Water and Power ($20 million for 84,000 smart meters). As Malcolm Unsworth, Itron’s president and chief executive officer, put it in a release: “The industry has been waiting for this day and these announcements since early in 2009.”

Landis+Gyr: The century-old Swiss firm Landis+Gyr has been a leader in the traditional electricity meter market in Europe for decades and is now partnering with many European utilities on their smart meter rollouts. It’s also angling for a piece of the U.S. smart meter market, and has started working with Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which received $127.51 million to roll out 600,000 smart meters.

Silver Spring Networks: The smart grid network provider has signed up Florida Power & Light, Oklahoma Gas and Electric, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, PHI Holdings (including PEPCO, Atlantic City and PEPCO DC), and Modesto Irrigation District. Silver Spring told us in an email that the funding “will go a long way toward accelerating and broadening deployment of the critical Smart Grid infrastructure.”

Viridity Energy: One-year-old Viridity Energy is one of the youngest tech startups that has scored a deal with a major utility funded under the stimulus program. The company sells software that dynamically manages loads on the grid in terms of energy pricing, renewable energy generation and energy storage, and could be described as a next-generation demand response technology. The startup is working with New York utility Consolidated Edison, which won $136.17 million for a smart grid, including “automation, monitoring and two-way communication.”